Oscillation-type lock



Feb- 18, 1936 J. L.. ADAMS, JR 2,031,311,708

OSCILLATION TYPE LOCK Filed Jan. 30, 1935 5 Sheets-Sheet l @www Mb WlH93@ J. n.. ADAMS, JR

OSCILLATION TYPE LOCK 5 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Jan. 50, 1955 w a wu Fb. M,T1936.. J. ADAMS, .JR

OSCILLATION TYPE LOCK www Filed Jan. 50, 1955 3 Sheets-Shea?I 5 @EE UwINVENTOR Patented Feb. 18, 1936 l STAE TENT OFFICE 13 Claims.

Objects One object of the present invention is to produce an oscillationtype lock of ultra-simplified construction, and lowest possible firstcost.

A prime object is to very greatly reduce the total number of locksrequired to lift vessels over a given summit elevation, betweenspecified terminal levels, and to thereby very materially ren duce thetotal initial cost thereof.

-) An important object is to greatly increase the possible head acrosseach successive lock, Whereby concomitant Water-power development is farmore readily accomplished, at equally reduced initial and operationalcosts.

- An equally important obj ect is to cut the amount of Water requiredfor lockage purposes to a previously unattainable minimum, therebyleaving a far greater percentage of the total Water available to beapplied remuneratively to power generation at each successive lock, orallowing-full traflic on an ultra-minimum supply.

A supplementary object is to greatly decrease the time taken for a totalgiven height of lockage, thereby very materially increasing the ultimateannual capacity of the canal system, and correspondingly lowering theaverage ton-mile costs.

An object of material value is to devise a rapid lockage system thatwill at the same time present a maximum of safety to the traic intransit, even in the event of any likely breakages, such as mightpossibly occur in the valve parts or operating mechanism, and to out thechances of any such breakage to a low minimum.

A further object of value. is to very greatly cut the maintenance andoperational costs of the total canal system concerned, by the saiddecrease in total number of locks and lock crews to a minimum number,this cut in Working costs being reflected equally in the ton-mile costsattained for the whole system.

Another object attained by the use of an ultraminimum number of locks,each of high lift, is

(Cl. (i1-S) distances, and to make it far easier later on to alter thegeneral depth, width, or other features of the long interveningstretches of channel, as may be required. This is especially true if theentire canal course between terminal flights of locks can be made of themono-level type.

This latter disposition of canal presents the added advantage ofpermitting a far greater concentration of water at the lock positions,since a long summit level can usually be made to conl0 nect with a fargreater drainage area than any short summit section possibly could. Andany canal Which has insufcient water to operate its summit section, isnot of very much use over the rest of its length. 15

A vital object of my present invention is to provide an oscillatorysystem of the utmost simplicity of construction, in which the long waterinertia tube or tubes themselves form the outside Water-receivingcontainer of the organization.

An essential object is to show how a plurality of inertia tubes may beutilized, without running up the total Water loss too high, but with agreat gain in the matter of cutting down the constructional dimensionsof both tubes and valves to a far more reasonable value, as comparedwith a single tube system.

Another object is to provide plural tubes which are all of the sameeffective length, in order to balance the Water ilows therethrough, andas has been shown but approximately on the drawings, in order to notoverlap the tubes.

An essential object of my invention is to provide a sectionalized lock,and more particularly one of unequal section dimensions, preferably of1:2 ratio, so that craft of three general lengths can be eflicientlyhandled, and Without filling and/or emptying the entire length of lockexcept When necessary to accommodate shipping of near such maximumdimension.

A coincident object is to make a further and very marked gain in thesaving of Water required, by the utilization of such a sectionalizedlock.

An object of material importance is to provide the oor of the lock witha generally distributed curved vane structure, presenting a multiplicityoi passageways therebetween which not only serve as eincient Waterdistributing and directing means, but at the same time provide a verymaterial portion of the total Venturi effect.

Another object of value is the provision of safety interlock connectionsfor use With the sectionalized form of lock, and the intermediate gate,

Cit

to prevent opening up of the m'ain valves ex- 55V cept under properwater surface level and gate conditions.

An added object is the inclusion of supplementary safety gate valves, inseries with the regular main valves but for emergency use only.

A prime object is to provide a general structure which for the rst timecombines all of the above valued objects in one simple and practicalworking system.

Yet other objects of value will be self-evident to anyone skilled in theart to which my invention appertains.

With al1 the above and yet other objects in view, I will show anddescribe a preferred embodiment of my invention, indicate twoalternative constructions, and will explain in detail their generalmodes of operation.

It will be understood that these embodiments are simply illustrative ofmy invention, and not as limiting the same, and that reasonablemodifications of the structures shown, and their modes of operation, maybe made without departing from the true spirit of said invention, or thescope of my broader claims.

Drawings In the drawings, Figure l is a. longitudine-vertical section online I-I of Figure 2, and indicating my ultra-simple, single-tube locksystem.

Figure 1A is a similar section of an alternative construction, showing aportion of a single lock and single Venturi bell system, provided withthree inertia tubes.

Figure 2 is a plan view of the system shown in Figure 1.

Figure 3 is an offset transverse-vertical section of the same and takenon the line III-III of Figure l, looking with the arrows.

Figures 4, and 4A, represent successive part sections taken along thesame line as Figure l, with certain vane additions in the case of Figure4, as wel'l as a sub-divided venturi.

Figure 5 is a longitudino-vertical section of my preferred three-tubeand sectionalized single-lock system, more or less along the generalline V--V of Figure 6.

Figure 6 is a plan view of my three-tube system, and showing the tubesin their proper horizontal positions, in order to clear the canal.

Figure 7 is a vertical transverse section of said three-tube system,taken on the line VII-VII of Figure 5, looking with the arrows.

Figures 8, 8A, and 8B show successive sectional portions of more or lessthe same three tube lock system as Figure 5, but with a distributingvane section added in the case of Figure 8.

Figures 9 and 10 show alternative transverse vertical cross-sections ofmy lock chamber, either of which might be applied to the systems ofFigure 4, or of Figure 8, but these sections have been indicated astaken on the lines IX-IX, and X-X, of Figures 4 and 8, respectively,looking with the arrows.

Figure 11 is a diagrammatic representation of my sectionalized singlelock system, showing typical safety interlock connections for thecontrol thereof.

Note that the sectionalization referred to allows for three operativelock lengths, of 1:2:3 ratio, according to whether a section, or thefull length of lock is used, but a 50% :50% sub-division may besubstituted if preferred.

In all the figures identical parts are given the same part markings.

All motions which have just been terminated are shown by solid arrows,while those which are next to occur are indicated by broken-line arrows.

Description Referring now more particularly to Figure l, I haveindicated a single chamber lock at I, connecting through the upper gate2, and also through the by-pass duct 2a and valve 2b, with the highlevel reservoir outlet or canal 3, while at its lower level this lockconnects by means of its lower gate 4, and tunnel or open cut section 5,and also by means of the by-pass duct 5a and valve 5b, with the lowercanal or waterway 6, it being noted that substantially the entire bottomof said lock connects with the large end of the Venturi bell, the smallend of which connects through the quick-acting and substantiallystream-line iiow valve 8, with the lock end of the very longfluid-inertia tube 9 of restricted area, which is preferably placedabout as shown, at an easy slope upward away from the lock. The extremeouter end I0 rises to a height such that the water contained thereinmay, at the end of its upward swing, more or less attain the elevationof that in the upper canal 3, although such i For a good design, thenormal loss-of-head at y.

the above lifts, will be about half the amounts above mentioned, theexcess being provided to allow for a material amount ofover-compensation.

If the latter is made just right, the next succeeding swing can be madeto bring the water in the lock precisely to that in the connectingcanals outside, thereby obviating the usual loss-of-time for furtherequalization of levels after the swing. The tube 9 is here used not onlyas an inertia tube, but also as a fluid receiver means of the utmostsimplicity of structure, since one set of concrete forms may be used toproduce both the required inertia tube and the water receiver.

The upper eXtreme end of the tube acts not onli,rv as a fluid-receivingmeans, but contributes a very fair inertia effect as well, so that thematerial of the tube is here utilized to very good advantage.

In order to make the necessary,7 additions o make-up water at upper endof swing in the tube 9, a water duct is shown at I I, provided with l avalve I2. This duct connects the upper canal 3, or an equivalent sourceof supply, with a point above the main valve 8 in the inertia tube 9.

Any necessary final equalization of levels inside and out of the lockcan be carried out by means of the by-pass duct 2a and its valve 2b, atthe upper level.

The lock being now again idle, and at its upper water level, Ipreferably make use of this idle time to waste some of the water ininertia tube 9, into the lower canal 6, by use of the duct I I?. and itsvalve |23, which shunt lock I and the main valve 8, and which water wasthen standing at its lower-end-of-swing, but still several feet inelevation above that in canal 6.

This will pre-compensate for loss-of-head due to friction in the next ordownward swing to foilow.

Note that the rise-and-fall section of tube 9 has a definitelydeterminable slope, but that portions lying between this and the Venturibell section may in some cases not lie in the same straight line..

Interpcsed between ther bottom of said lock I, andthe large top end ofthe Venturi bell 1, I have indicated a narrow horizontal zone I3.

In Figure 1A, an alternative construction utilizing triple tubes 9a, 9b,and 9c, has been shown, instead of the single tube 9, as was shownbefore.

In Figures 2 and 3 no new elements appear or require identification,except the upper gate withdrawing recess R of Figure 2.

Referring now to Figures 4 and 4A, the latter being in effect acontinuation of the former but with a certain intervening sectionmissing, there are found as new parts not previously identified, thecrescent-shaped vanes I1, forming a multiplicity of fluid directingpassages therebetween as at I8, and which may or may not be provided toflll the zone I3, previously referred to under Figure 1.

As shown, it will be observed that these passages may be made to have avery decided Venturi effect, with generally upward divergence, inaddition to their other concomitant actions of giving an upward trend tothe flow, and a subn stantially uniform distribution thereof over theentire bottom area of the lock.

In Figure 4, in addition to the main valve 5, which is showndiagrammatically (since the general construction thereof has beenindicated detail in my co-pending valve applications Serial Numbers701,456, led December 8, 1933, and 742,945, led September 6, 1934), Ihave shown the quick-closing emergency gate valve I9, which may or maynot be provided, this gate being operated by the rack 20, slidablymounted in the bracket 2|, and in operative contact with the gear 22,carried integrally with the pinion 23, on a shaft 24 common thereto,with the said pinion meshing with the 90 motion gear 25, carrying thecrank-pin 25, which connects by means of the i rod 21, with pin 28, onthe 180 motion gear 2S. meshing in turn with small pinion on the motor30, with all these geared parts suitably mounted in operative relationupon the common stationary base 3|. By-passing both the main valve 8 andemergency valve I9, I have shown the water conduit 32, and valve 33,while as an alternative construction there is shown the shorter conduit32a with valve 33a, Icy-passing the emergency valve I9 only.

Beyond the two outlets of the conduit 32, I preferably place the long,inclined, grids 34, to protect the valves from detritus. At the foot ofthe screening grids 34, I have placed the catch-all trenches 35, whichwould be made to obstruct the flow as little as possible.

At bottom of the upper gate 2 there is indicated a blow-off duct 36,flushable bythe water jet 31 located at one end of the lock gate, andprovided for the occasional cleaning out of sand, etc., from the gatetrench.,

In Figure 4, a wall 1a divides the Venturi bell into two sections 1b and1c.

In Figure 4 also, I have again shown the upper level of liquid swingwithin the inertia tube 9 as just below the surface elevation of theupper canal 3 leading to the lock I, but this elevation is subject tosome modication by proper design.

Turning now to Figure 5, and in addition to parts already described,there are shown the intermediate gate 38, of the substantially oatedtype, buoyed by the hollow flotation bulb 39, and preferably with saidgate arranged for horizontal withdrawal into the side wall of the lockI, which Wall is also provided with the narrow projecting partitions P,of more or less triangular form as will be indicated later, and whichserve to keep all shipping to the central portion or well of the lock,as better shown on a subsequent figure. Below the lock I, I have shownthe now sub-divided Venturi structure 40, 4I, 42, separated intosections by the heavy reenorced concrete walls 43, 44, of which theformer only is provided with a gate seal at 45, arranged to contact withthe lower edge of the gate 33, after the latter has been run in intoposition within the lock chamber, and then lowered slightly by allowingsome water to enter the bulb 39, by well known means, (not shown).

Instead of the single inertia tube 9 previously mentioned, thisalternative and preferred construction sho-ws three of the latter at 46,41, 48, all similar to said tube 3, but of about half its diameter only,while three smaller main valves 49, 50, 5I, now replace the previouslydescribed and much larger single valve 8, and three similarly smalleremergency valves 52, 53, 54, now replace the larger valve I9, of Figure4.

In order to clearly sho-w the three tubes of Figure 5, they havearbitrarily been placed in a single vertical plane.

Theoretically, four tubes of half diameter should be used to replace oneof a given larger diameter, but the three permit the use of a subdividedlock, by which very material additional water savings may be attained,so that in effect one of the four theoretically equivalent tubes may bedropped out, so far as equivalent total water volume losses areconcerned. The tube lengths would be made precisely equal. The tubes maybe of concrete, plain or re-enforced, or in some cases cut in massiverock.

In Figures 6 and '7 no new parts appear which require identification,other than the intermediate gate receiving recess Re of Figure 6, and inView of the descriptions given in connection with Figures 4 and 5, it isbelieved that nothing further need be said as to Figures 8, 8A, and 8B,eX- cept to note that on this alternative construction, I have shown inFigure 8 wire protective screens 55, 56, and a counter-weight 51 andappropriate mounting, for the lower lift gate 4.

On Figure 8 there is also found the by-pass duct 38a, and valve 38h,below gate 38.

It will be noted that all the inertia tubes are preferably to be made asnearly a straight-line construction as possible, or with very largeradius hydraulic bends.

The means for getting the intermediate gate 38 into and out of the lockhas not been shown.

In Figure 8, both the intermediate and the upper gate have been shown asof the horizontally removable type, while the lower gate 4 has beenindicated as of the lift type, as will be more plainly brought out in alater ligure, but these designs are tentative only, for the purposes ofthis presentation, and may be modied.

Note that air may be forced into the bulb 39, 'L1

of intermediate gate 38, (and similar expedient applied to the uppergate 2,) to eject water therefrom and float the gate 38 off of its seal45 entirely, before shifting it out of the lock, whereby wear on thesealing means is greatly minimized.

Turning to Figure 9, a substantially verticalwall type of lock has beenshown, which gives high economy in the use of water, but which for veryhigh Vlifts involves the use of extremely massive concrete or masonryretaining walls 59, 60, which add considerably to the total lockconstruction cost. In this figure, the gate 4 has been indicated as ofthe screw-lift type, with screws 6I, 62, these being mounted preferablyin rotatable eccentric bushings at the bearing positions (not shown), sothat the gate may be made to recede an inch or two away from the lockwall before lifting, and thus entirely clear its rubber gaskets fromcontact with the machined seat (not shown), before rotating the gears63. which actuate the said lifting screws.

This is to avoid wea-r on the gaskets, the gelieral form of which may beobserved by referring to my co-pending application on Canal locks,Serial #700,650, filed December 2, 1933.

In Figure 10, an alternative and very much lighter type of lockretaining walls 64, G5, has been indicated, which may be made with aconsiderable outward slope to more or less fully counteract the directthrust of the surrounding earth fill, and all at ultra-low cost, butwith the inherent disadvantage of a somewhat accentuated volume of waterlost through friction head developed during each swing of the fluid.

The choice between the Figure 9 and Figure l0 constructions willtherefore be dictated by the respective necessities of lowered wateruse, or lowered first cost.

The general disposition of the distributing vane zone I3, with itsmultiplicity of curved vanes I'I, is clearly brought out in these twofigures. These heavy reenforced concrete vanes also serve as anefficient means for holding apart, against the inward thrust of theearth, the lower elements of the main retaining walls 59, 58, and 64,65, in the respective gures here shown.

In Figure 10, occasional light triangular wing partitions are indicatedat P, the longitudinal spacing of which I have provisionally shown onFigures 5, 6, and 8, and the purpose of which is to restrict all traiiicto the central vertical well of the lock.

In Figure 11, the intermediate gate 38 of lock I has arbitrarily beenshown as if of the drop type, which moves downward to clear the lock,this change being made in order to be able to better show the action ofthe interlock contacts 66, and 6l, co-acting therewith, as all themotions are then reduced to a single plane.

Of these two contact elements, 66 is shown as closed by the completerise of the gate 38, while 61 is open under these conditions, and isonly closed by the action of its closing weight 68 when this gate hasbeen completely withdrawn downward, away from the lock. All theremaininginterlock contacts 59, le, in the smaller or A section of thelock, and 1I, 12, 13, in the larger or B section to the right, are ofthe float or F type, such that 69, 1I, 'I2 close just before the waterin the lock reaches its upper or U level, while "I0, and 'I3 close justbefore attainment of the L or lower level, and open again just afterthis is receded from again by a few inches.

For valving purposes only, the B section of the lock is againsub-divided into the smaller, and preferably equal B1 and Bz sections,as was indicated in Figure 8.

Suitably located in a lock control house, (not shown), overlooking theentire structure, there is mounted the double-pole, double-throw, or D.P.-D. T. selector swit-ch 14, having the designated A and B sides, andthe upper or u, and down or-d throws, matching the lock layout.

On its right I have shown also the singlepole,

four-throw, or S. P.-4 T. selector switch, which is likewise providedwith "A and B section markings, with the subscripts u and d added, todesignate upward and downward lock movements, respectively. Thedouble-pole or D. P. switch is for operating both sections of the lockin unison, up or down; while the S. P. switch is provided for singlesection operations.

On one blade of each of these two switches there is provided aninsulated metal clip, (not shown) which closes one of the contacts 'I6or 1l, respectively, but only when the switch concerned is in its fullyopen or olf position, as has been indicated, for example, in the case ofthe S. P. switch 'I5,`which is shown between its main contact positions,and adjacent the contacts TI, which are assumed closed thereby.

These are safety interlock connections in each case, to prevent thesetting of more than one of these switches at a time, with resultantconfusion of lock operations.

Below these switches are shown six primary interlock relays, numbered I8to 83, respectively, closable by the respective closing coils 84 to 89,and adapted to be held in closed position by the light retaining coilsto 95, respectively.

Through proper tieing-in connections, as shown, these relays functionthe several closing coils 96, 91, and S8, of the A section maincontactor 99 and the B section main contactors |00 and ISI,

by these contactors, each go to one main operating P valve motor in therespective inertia tubes 4S, 41, 48, of Figure 8, but those for only onevalve have been shown in the diagram, namely 49.

In each case, the main contactors 99, |00, and IOI, individually feed areversing contactor such as that shown diagrammatically at |03, eachwith a closing coil |04 on its valve-opening or O side, a similarclosing coil I U5 on its valve-closing or C side, a centre-return springIBB, and an oil or equivalent dash-pot |01.

For each such reversing contactor there is provided a single-pole,double-throw, or S. P.D. T. switch m8, having a valve-opening or Othrow, and a valve-closing or C throw, for final manual supervision ofthe timing of the valve motions indicated, the plurality of suchindividual switches required for a plural tube and valve system beingpreferably combined into a single multi-pole, double-throw switch, forsimplication of the operations, and to avoid any chances of errorarising here.

To the right of the switch I D8, there are shown throw-limit switches|09 for the opening or O direction of valve motion, and IIS for theclosing or C throw thereof, both being operated by contact of theirinsulating roller tips with the pin III, carried by and projecting fromthe gear II2, mounted on the suitably supported and rotatable shaft II3,said gear being in operative mesh with suitable small pinion on themotor I I4, which has an upper brush I l5, a lower brush I I 6, and aseries coil I I'I, and which motor, by means of the crank-pin IIS,mounted on the rotatable gear II2, the connecting-rod IIB, and the pinIES,

drives the definite angular motion crank-arm I2I, mounted on therotatable shaft IEE, carried in the bearing block 423, and which shaftin turn serves to operate one of the main valves, such for example, asthat shown at 49, in Figures 5 and 8,

and which applies `to the A:section ofthe lock illustrated therein.v

Upper loop |24 of Figure 11 connects with a contact making device |25,which in an actual construction is arranged toV be normally closedwhenever the water in a given inertia tube, with which it is connected,is `substantially stationary, or is in the act of near approach to suchcondition, but is open whenever such water is in material motion ineither direction of ow, (all as described in connection with Figure 1 ofmy aforementioned valve application, Serial Number 701,456).

Thus the near approach to zero velocity condition of the water ininertia tube will be announced by the signal or pilot lamp |25, :locatedconveniently within the operators range of vision.

Certain subsequent part numbers, from |2`| to |41, inclusive, have beenapplied to identify certain of the connecting lines, or conductors, inthe diagram of connections on Figure 11. Since the operation of theinterlock circuits shown in Figure 1l will be self-evident, furtherdescription thereof will be omitted here.

The sectionalized lock offers such an opportunity for added watersaving, that it is deemed entirely worth the extra electricalcomplication involved, all shorter craft being carried through with buta fractional fill, or emptying, of the lock.

Operation In the operation of my single tube lock system as shown inFigure 1, starting with the water levels as indicated, any trafc to goup is entered at the lower gate 4, the latter is closed, it beingassumed that during the previous period of rest, valve l2 has beenopened up for a sufcient time to add make-up water to the tube 9 toover-compensate it for the succeeding swing, in which case main Valve 8is now opened up quickly, and the water content of tube 9 and Venturibell l allowed to freely swing back into the lock coming to a halt thereat substantially the precise level of the upper canal 3.

If any mistake is made in proper equalization of these levels at anytime, however, valve 2b may be opened up just long enough to correct it,after which upper gate 2 may be opened to permit egress from the lock,followed by entrance of new shipping, if present, or a wait for furtherloading.

If this wait is sufficient, valve l2a in duct Ila is opened up, wastingsome water from the low level in tube 9, into lower canal 5, aspreviously outlined, to now over-compensate for the next swing downinthe lock l, after closure again of the upper gate 2, and said valve|2a. This swing should in turn carry the inside water surface preciselyto that of the lower canal 6, after which lower gate il may be openedup, and also valve |2 as before, so as to get ready for the next swingupward in the lock.

It may be noted here that the loss-inhead due to friction appears tovary about as the square of the height of lift, other conditions beingheld constant.

In the operation of Figure 4, a substantially identical proceedure isfollowed.

Sectionaheed lock operation In the operation of Figures or 8, involvingthe sectionalized type of lock, switch |02 may be closed, and if thefull length of lock is to be next utilized, operator turns to the D. P.switch 14, which controls both sections of the lock concomitantly, andis now thrown up or down, de-

pending on which way it is desired for the lockage to occur, followed bythe throwing of switch ||J8 to the opening or O side, and after a waitof 5 seconds or so to give the valves time to open up andthe watercolumn to get under way, this latter switch is .then thrown over to itsclosing or C position, to await the eventual automatic timing closure ofthe contacts |25, at the end of loop |255, as the water slows downtoward Zero velocity again on the completion of its swing, exciting theclosing coil C on the reversing contactor H33, again starting up the,motor H4, but in reverse direction, followed .immediately by the shiftof crankarm |2| to its C position, and the full closure of all the mainvalves 46, 47, and 48, since each is connected with an identical closingmechanism.

If craft small enough to permit the use lof the intermediate gate S3 hasentered and been properly positioned in the lock, then on closure ofthis gate, and gates 2 and 4, if and as required, and with the D. P.switch 74 open, so as toclose its auxiliary contacts 16, the S. P.switch l5 may be now rotated to proper position on its A or B sides, andto an up or down peint as required, after which on closing the switch m8in its opening or O direction, the required single lock-section valvewill be found to function, provided proper water levels existed in thelock as a whole, before the gate 38 was run in.

Interlock connections As long as the operator sets the intermediate gateand all switches properly, the interlock contacts will not interferewith his activities, but they are provided as a safety measure or checkon his actions, as will be understood without detailed explanation.

In the use of the locks of my invention, it will be observed thatcertain very definite advantages accrue from their ultra meagre waterrequirements, whereby a very small drainage-area can supply all thewater necessary for a very heavy annual tonnage thru the locks.

Where the water supply is ample, certain other advantages accrue fromthe fact that an lultralarge percentage of this water can be reservedfor water-power development, at fairly high heads, corresponding withthe high lifts possible with my locks.

Certain other advantages accrue from the fact that a 65 lift lock, forexample, will only require about 1 of make-up water per swing, asmeasured in the lock, and whereby the time consumed in the necessaryfilling by conduit is vastly reduced, as compared with locks of ordinarytype.

It is probable that the very best system of interlock connections hasnot been illustrated, but it is believed that that shown is amplysufficient for the purposes intended, and the requirements of thisapplication, and that moderate modifications thereof will still comewithin the scope of my broader claims.

I claim:

1. An oscillation type canal lock system, comprising a lock chamber,upper and lower gates connected therewith, a Venturi bell connectedlarge-end-to into the lower portion of the said lock chamber, a longfluid-inertia tube having an outer free end, which tube is connected tothe small end of the said Venturi bell and rises toward the outer freeend of the said tube, and a fluid control valve connected in the saidtube.

2. An oscillation type canal lock system, comprising a lock chamber,upper and lower gates connected therewith, a waterway channel connectingwith the outer side of the upper gate, a Venturi bell connected by itslarge end into the bottom portion of the said lock chamber, a uidcontrol valve connected to the small end of the said Venturi bell, and along fluid inertia tube having a free outer end and connected by itsinner end to the said valve, the said outer end rising to a heightcomparable with that of the said waterway channel.

3. An oscillation type waterway lock system, comprising a lock-chamber,upper and lower gates connected therewith, a Venturi bell connected byits larger end into the bottom of said lock-chamber, a longfluid-inertia tube arranged to act as a Water-receiver as the water inlock is lowered, said tube being connected with the smaller end of saidVenturi bell, and a water control means in said tube.

4. An oscillation type canal lock system, comprising a lock chamber,upper and lower gates connected thereto, a plurality of uid directingand distributing vanes mounted in the bottom portion of the said lockchamber and forming a plurality of long uid passageways therebetween, aVenturi bell connected by its large end to the said passageways as awhole, a long uid inertia tube with afree outer end of substantially thesame diameter as the body of the tube, said tube being connected at itsinner end to the small end of the said Venturi bell, and a fluid controlvalve connected in the said tube near the Venturi end thereof.

5. An oscillation type canal lock system, as in claim 4, in which thesaid vanes are spaced more Widely apart at their lock end than at theirVenturi bell end, so as to themselves form Venturi passagestherebetween, to supplement the action of the said Venturi bell.

6. An oscillation type canal lock system as in claim 2, which isprovided with a fluid conduit from the said waterway to the said fluidinertia tube, and a control valve placed in the said conduit to controlthe supply of make-up fluid to said tube.

7. An oscillation type canal lock system as in claim 2, which isprovided with a fluid conduit from the said fluid inertia tube to thenavigation channel outside the said lower gate, and a control Valve inthe said conduit to control the Waste of fluid from said tube.

8. An oscillation type canal lock system as in claim 2, which isprovided with two iluid conduits from the said inertia tube, oneextending to a point in said waterway outside the upper gate, and theother to a point in the Waterway outside the lower gate, with valves ineach of said conduits to control the pre-compensation for losses due tofluid friction in said oscillation lock system.

' 9. An oscillation type canal lock system, comprising a lock chamber,upper and lower gates connected therewith, a Venturi bell connected byits large end into near-bottom portions of the said lock chamber, afluid control valve connected to the smaller end of the said Venturibell, and a plurality of long fluid inertia tubes which rise towardtheir outermost ends, said tubes being connected to the said valve inparallel at their respective ends nearest to said lock chamber.

10. An oscillation type canal lock system, comprised of a longitudinallysectionizable lock chamber, upper and lower gates at the respectivelongitudinal ends of said lock chamber, a removable intermediate gate, aVenturi bell connected large-end-to into the lower part of one of thelock sections produced by the insertion of the said intermediate gate, afluid control valve connected to the smaller end of the said Venturibell, power operating means attached to said valve, and a long fluidinertia tube having an elevated free end which acts as a water-receiverele ment for the said oscillation system and which tube is connected atits other end to the said valve.

11. An oscillation type canal lock system as in claim 10, characterizedby an interlock means operable by the entrance and withdrawal of thesaid intermediate gate, and connections from said interlock to the poweroperating means on the said control valve, to control the starting ofsaid power means.

l2. An oscillation type canal lock system as in claim 10, characterizedby interlock means mounted adjacent the lock-chamber and operable bychanges in uid level in the said lock section, and connections to thepower operating means of the said control Valve, to control theconditions of starting of said power means.

13. An oscillation type canal lock system, comprised of a longitudinallysectionizable lock chamber, upper and lower gates at the respectivelongitudinal ends of said lock chamber, a removable intermediate gate, aplurality of Venturi bells, one connected large-end-to into the lowerpart of each of the lock sections produced by the insertion of saidintermediate gate, a plurality of iluid control valves, one connected toeach Ven- ',V.

turi bell at its smaller end, a plurality of power operating means forsaid valves and connected to each respectively, and a plurality of longuidinertia-tubes, each connected at one end to one of said valves,respectively, and each mounted so as to rise gradually toward its outerfree end.

JAMES L. ADAMS, JR.

